World-First Colour Extraction Process Could Solve Fashion’s Waste Problem

Australian researchers have come up with a process to turn old clothes into colourful pigments that can be used for art and design.

Peter Pelkmans, a lecturer at the Rijksmuseum's drawing school, mixes primary colors on a palette in Amsterdam on April 6, 2023. JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images

Scientists at Deakin University have created a special process to turn old clothes into colourful pigments, giving a second life to discarded textiles instead of letting them go to waste.

Lead researcher and associate professor Rangam Rajkhowa said about 800,000 tonnes of textile waste are discarded in Australian landfills each year.